ELF Studio Conditioning Balm SPF 15 Review + Lip Swatches

I'm just going to be doing a quick review on the ELF Studio Conditioning Balms which have I've seen to have a lot of great reviews. Since I own a couple myself, I figured I would do my own review on these! Today I'll be reviewing these in the colors Nice & Natural, Peaceful Pink, and Mellow Melon as well as telling you how I apply these.

When my older sister first saw these the first thing she said was "oh my god. why are they like that?" She was referring to the packaging, haha. The packaging of these are really unnecessarily bulky. Some people have some issues with this, such as my older sister, but I myself don't mind all that much.

Sursly nao? Anyway, these are the 3 lightest colors that they have available right now. I was able to snag Mellow Melon for only a $1.80 at my local K-Mart. The other two I got for $3 each at the same K-Mart.

Some Things to Note + Application:

• These are very comfortable on the lips. I am very particular about how lip products feel on my lips. If it feels too greasy or too dry I will take it off shortly after because I really don't have the tolerance for it. I really have no problem with these.
  
  
• If you take too long to apply these they will become really greasy feeling. So, work diligently when spreading these on your lips! I had a huge problem with this when applying Peaceful Pink.
  
  
• This product has an SPF of 15 which I think is excellent. It not only is a great lip balm but it adds additional protection when conditioning your lips.
  
  
• These have a sweet smell and taste that I think is similar to the ELF Hypershine Lip Glosses.
  
  
• These can be applied very opaquely or they can be sheered out. What I do if I want an opaque application is that I pick out a chunk onto the top of the longest nail I have and I place the chunk onto my lips. Using my fingers I apply it because it warms the product up making it easier to spread out. It sounds kind of silly but it works for me! Thus I don't have to get any product stuck under my nails.
  
  
• You can apply these with a lip brush but make sure it's a short bristled dense one for more precise control!
  
  
• One very important thing to note is the fact that people have had some reactions to the formulation of this. They have noted some warm stinging sensations, some being unable to continue using this product because of it. Me, personally, I do feel a bit of a warm sensation but it isn't anything that I cannot tolerate. I'm looking at the ingredients and I'm thinking maybe it's the Mineral Oil?

Top: Nice & Natural, L-R Bottom: Mellow Melon, Peaceful Pink

• Nice & Natural is a really light nude color with a pink tint to it. Out of the 3 I have, this is the least pigmented. Just like any nude lip color it will accentuate the dry spots on your lips so just beware. For my skin color which is an NC 35 it is such a perfect nude for me. This didn't last very long on my lips though.
  
  
• Mellow Melon is a bright watermelon color. This was the most pigmented of the bunch. I had the least problems as far as streakiness and application.
  
  
• Peaceful Pink is a light bubblegum pink. This didn't work well with my skin color very well at all. I noticed that the more I spread it out on my lips the lighter the color got than what it was in the pot.

Lip Swatches

Verdict?
Well, I think these are a great alternative to lipsticks since they aren't extremely bold and opaque but they do give a great color payoff. Plus the added bonuses such as SPF and the conditioning property! What I do think is that they should try and figure out what is going on with the stinging sensation and how they should change the formula. I really am happy with these and I'm actually interested in getting Blissful Berry so hopefully I'll get one of those sooner or later.

Have you tried these? What do you think? Let me know!